Some southern B.C. properties ordered to stop using water after drug lab found

Marshall Jones - Managing Editor

Drug labs, like this one from Vernon in 2014, occasionally pop up around the Thompson-Okanagan potentially endangering local water and wastewater sources.

Image Credit: FILE PHOTO

March 03, 2017 - 8:35 AM

ROCK CREEK, B.C. - Residents of about 25 properties in British Columbia's Boundary Region have been ordered to stop using their water until further notice.

Interior Health issued the order after RCMP reported a clandestine drug lab near Bridesville, east of Osoyoos, had dumped solvents and other hazardous materials into the soil, possibly contaminating the local water table.

The Do Not Use order covers a three kilometre radius between Bridesville and Rock Creek, but does not affect the communities of Bridesville, Rock Creek or Midway.

The health authority also says there is no risk to water from aquifers, deep wells, or for properties downstream along the Kettle River.

Officials believe the risks of exposure or health problems are low, and say the warning is a precautionary measure.

But they say the water ban will stay in place for the affected properties until further investigation and testing is complete.

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